Better Call Saul (spoilers)

Just opening this thread and noting that this series releases this Sunday, February 8th, on AMC.

Looks like they're also doing the "back to back" thing too of releasing the next episode for 24 hours following the current one, before it airs the next week. My FIOS DVR picked up episode #2 airing on Monday.

Welcome back, Saul Goodman (and Mike Ehrmantraut)! We missed ya!

Last edited by Bellflower; 02-10-2015 at 03:13 PM.

"Hey Capa -- We're only stardust." ~ "Sunshine"

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” ~ H.P. Lovecraft

Eh, we'll see. Seems like they're milking a cash cow at this point. That said, I do enjoy Odenkirk.

The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not determine what's true. -Sagan

I don't necessarily trust networks, but I trust Gilligan.
I don't think he'd tell the story if he had nothing to tell.

He's been pretty solid every since I've seen his work in X-Files, plus the occasional indie film.

"Hey Capa -- We're only stardust." ~ "Sunshine"

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” ~ H.P. Lovecraft

...Probably the biggest surprise about the premiere of “Better Call Saul” is just how comfortable and familiar it felt. This isn’t “Breaking Bad,” but it definitely lives in that world. “Bad” was known for presenting unique camera angles and exploring its world with striking visuals and sound.

“Saul” moves faster, but it has that same sense of mood and atmosphere. Scenes are set through lighting, sound and visuals in a way that you actually notice and appreciate. It’s television as artisitic expression rather than just pointing the cameras at the actors and having them read lines.

On top of that, “Saul” features the same level of dialogue and acting performances that “Bad” had. It’s as if the crew didn’t skip a beat and this is just the next season of “Breaking Bad.” Only this season is told primarily as a flashback to Saul Goodman’s early years and Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are nowhere to be found … which is actually pretty high praise.

There's more in there, but it can be spoiler-y if you'd rather know nothing at all going into it.

"Hey Capa -- We're only stardust." ~ "Sunshine"

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” ~ H.P. Lovecraft

Just finished. I liked it.
And the last five seconds left me laughing non-stop. Awesome!

Episode 2 is tomorrow night (Monday).

"Hey Capa -- We're only stardust." ~ "Sunshine"

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” ~ H.P. Lovecraft

It's funny, but it's not just a comedy, I guess. We are supposed to give a shit about the characters, and most of what happens to them is presented straight-faced even though it is funny. It does have some things in common with BB, tone-wise, but takes itself much less seriously. Some of it does seem like a riff on BB but that doesn't seem to be all it is or aspires to be (and some of that just seems like Gilligan's fingerprints being all over it).

The AV Club reviewer gave the first two episodes a B, and I think I might give it a B plus, based on the first episode. A hopeful B plus. I think it could be really good. The opening scene had me hooked immediately and I was never bored.

I've always been a fan of Gilligan's blend of the deeply personal/serious while filtering a wry ironic tone throughout... he dances with the absurd. He can create a lot of empathy and pathos for protanogists simply by the terrible luck they all seem to have, and yet it never really drops into farce, they all still seem like very real people.

He had a bit of "quirk" even in his first really famous X-Files episode he solely wrote (Pusher -- there's a weird emphasis on the color "Cerulean Blue"), but "Small Potatoes" was probably his first great example of an episode that was quirky at core while still being able to take seriously, and involved some scrutiny of Mulder, having him question why he could have so much going for him and yet (at least in society's eyes) end up being pretty much a loser.

He worked with Michael McKean in the two-part "Dreamland" there (first time working with him?), which was more a comedic episode (with Nora Dunn as McKean's screechy wife who Mulder has to deal with since he and McKean have switched bodies temporarily). But in "Hunger," he takes a really crazy idea (the fast food worker who is kind of a human shark and is trying to kick the habit of eating people) and explores it horrifyingly to its ultimate conclusion; so much of the episode can make you laugh at its approach to 12-step programs, but at the same time this soft-spoken person is wrestling with who and what he is, and the end is rather shocking in its existential bleakness. You see also his first directing attempt on X-Files (plus writing) on Je Souhaite -- the sardonic genie who enjoys twisting around the wishes of supplicants who free her from her magic rug. You can just see him practicing this "tone" of his that ended up being a mainstay of Breaking Bad and now is channeled into Better Call Saul.

There are similarities to BB and BCS, but so far BCS seems to be a bit more light-hearted in tone even with some serious elements.

The opening shot in b&w is kind of poignant (since you're not quite sure "where you are" until you see his reaction to the guy in the store and then later pulls out his shoebox to "relive the glory days"). The moustache is surreal. But the whole sequence was pleasantly familiar and yet very sad all at once. This is all Saul has left, from what he had built. And while it's his fault for getting involved with Walt, at the same time, Walt seemed to kill every thing he touched. Bastard.

"Hey Capa -- We're only stardust." ~ "Sunshine"

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” ~ H.P. Lovecraft